Psychologists
Elizabeth Loftus
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Elizabeth Loftus is an American cognitive psychologist and expert on human memory, best known for demonstrating the misinformation effect, the finding that a witness's memory of an event can be altered by information encountered after the fact. Her research on the reliability and malleability of eyewitness testimony and recovered memories has made her one of the most cited psychologists of the twentieth century and a frequent expert witness in criminal trials.
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Nationality / Culture Defining ContributionDemonstrated the misinformation effect: in a 1974 study with John Palmer, the verb used to ask about a car collision ('smashed' versus 'hit') changed witnesses' subsequent speed estimates and their memory of whether broken glass had been present, showing that questions asked after an event can reconstruct a witness's memory of it. 1 Notable WorkThe Myth of Repressed Memory: False Memories and Allegations of Sexual Abuse (1994) 1 Notable WorkWitness for the Defense (1991) 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
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1. Wikipedia: Elizabeth Loftus
Wikimedia FoundationLead sectionQuote, Lead section
American psychologist who is best known in relation to the misinformation effect, false memory and criticism of recovered memory therapies.
1. Wikipedia: Elizabeth Loftus
Wikimedia FoundationinfoboxQuote, infobox
Elizabeth Fishman (1944-10-16) October 16, 1944 (age 81) Bel Air, California, U.S.
1. Wikipedia: Elizabeth Loftus
Wikimedia FoundationFindings, Loftus-Palmer 1974 studyQuote, Findings, Loftus-Palmer 1974 study
These results are consistent with the view that the questions asked subsequent to an event can cause a reconstruction in one's memory of that event.
1. Wikipedia: Elizabeth Loftus
Wikimedia FoundationBibliographyQuote, Bibliography
Loftus, Elizabeth; Ketcham, Katherine (June 25, 2013). The Myth of Repressed Memory: False Memories and Allegations of Sexual Abuse. St. Martin's Publishing Group.
1. Wikipedia: Elizabeth Loftus
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Cognitive Psychology, Lead paragraphQuote, Associated With: Cognitive Psychology, Lead paragraph
American cognitive psychologist
1. Wikipedia: Elizabeth Loftus
Wikimedia FoundationIn Branch: Forensic Psychology, Career section (forensic applications)Quote, In Branch: Forensic Psychology, Career section (forensic applications)
She shifted from laboratory work to using 'real world' situations of criminal court cases.
Wikipedia: Misinformation Effect
Wikimedia FoundationTheories and Concepts Developed: Misinformation Effect
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